Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
by Iknowyoulovemexoxo
Summary: What happens when Vince forces Stephanie and Paul apart and then Stephanie goes missing? Nobody knows where she is and nobody can get hold of her but her family do find a note on her laptop that implies bad things have happened to her.
1. Chapter 1

I didn't intend to write this because I don't need another story but the idea was really bugging me and wouldn't go away. Initially it was meant to be a one-shot but then it was really long so it will be at least two chapters, maybe more. I don't know how long this story will be, it will all depend on the number of reviews and what people want to happen really. I do hope you enjoy it though.

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_He told me he loved me and then he walked away . . . he fucking walked away! How can you tell somebody you love them and then just walk away like it is nothing? If you really love them you would stand up and fight for them and fight for that love not walk away like a coward._

_We haven't said a word to each other since he walked away from me. When we are forced to be in the same room together it is unbearable, the air is so frosty that I swear I nearly catch hypothermia the longer I am in it._

_Paul's a wimp and my Father is an even bigger wimp, he told us it was okay, he gave us his blessing to date and then he took it back! He listened to the boys in the back whining like little bitches and completely destroyed his daughter's happiness in the process of pleasing the boys._

_I don't know what I'm doing here any more, I'm completely miserable and everyone would be better off without me around._

As Shane's eyes scanned the laptop screen he felt his heart drop, this couldn't be what he thought it was could it? Turning his head to look at his wife who was sat next to him scanning the screen also he looking into her eyes and he swore her eyes mirrored exactly what he was feeling, a lot of fear. Slowly putting the laptop down on the coffee table in front of him he turned to his parents, "I think you need to read this."

Putting the papers they were currently sifting through down they walked over to where Shane was sat and picked up the laptop and began to read what was on the screen. As soon as Vince had finished reading it he gulped, "is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking?"

Turning to look at his Dad Shane shrugged, "depends on whether you think this is a suicide note or not?"

_Flashback:_

_"Have you spoken to Stephanie recently?"_

_Linda looked at her husband who was staring at his cell phone, "not in a few days, why? What the hell have you done?"_

_Vince frowned, "she didn't tell you?"_

_"She didn't tell me what? Now you are worrying me Vince."_

_Sighing heavily he raked his fingers through his hair, "on Tuesday I told her and Paul that they had to break it off because the wrestlers weren't happy backstage."_

_Linda's eyes widened and she looked at her husband like he was crazy, "you did what? You told them they could date, why would you take it back?"_

_"The wrestlers were unsettled, they were saying Paul was getting pushed because of her and I just couldn't have it."_

_"So you broke our daughter's heart instead, congratulations."_

_Rolling his eyes Vince shook his head, "don't be so dramatic, they were only together a month or two so there is no way her heart would break."_

_Crossing her arms over her chest Linda glared at her husband, "have you talked with Stephanie about how she feels about him?"_

_"No."_

_"Well then, I have so don't come in here and tell me her heart won't be broken at this moment because I know different. So tell me when you last spoke to her."_

_Vince looked at the floor, "Tuesday afternoon when I told them to break it off, she refused to come near me, look at me or even speak to me after and she found her own way home. She hasn't been to the offices since either."_

_Linda was shocked, "and you have waited until now to worry and try to contact her?"_

_Shaking his head he hadn't left it until now to worry, he had been worrying and trying to contact her since but he just thought she was avoiding him, "not at all. I've been ringing her daily but I just thought she was ignoring me because she was mad but now I am really worrying."_

_Picking up her phone Linda decided to give her a call to put Vince's mind at ease. Listening as the phone rang and rang and there was no answer. When it went to voice mail she shook her head, "okay so she's not answering for me either. I'll try Shane."_

Stephanie kicked at the sand beneath her feet, it was cold and windy but she didn't feel it despite not having a coat on, she was numb to everything. Bending down she untied her sneakers and kicked them off rolling up the legs of her jeans she left her sneakers where they were and walked closer to the water allowing the cold waves to lap at her feet as she looked at the sky allowing the tears to fall. As her mind drifted to what today would have been she felt her knees buckle as the tears fell harder and faster and she fell to her knees in the sand as the waves continued to lap around her soaking even more of her legs but she didn't feel it.

Shane rubbed his face wearily, it had been just over a day since his Mom had called him wondering if he had spoken to Stephanie since Tuesday and he hadn't so he spent the day attempting to call her. After having no success trying to reach Stephanie on the phone the family decided as a unit to turn up on her doorstep to check up on her but they didn't get an answer so let themselves in with the spare key.

Upon entering Stephanie's house they'd looked around and it looked the same as when they had last been there so they'd gone room to room looking for anything out of the ordinary and there was nothing. As a last resort Shane had booted up Stephanie's laptop that was still in the bag in the corner of her room and upon seeing it password protected he attempted to crack the password and quickly succeeded. Once he had the home screen open he went straight for her most recent documents and that was when he found the note and he could not get it out of his head, "somebody needs to try calling her again."

Marissa pulled her cell phone out of her bag, "I'll do it, she might answer for me."

Scrolling through her phone until she got to Stephanie's number she rang it not expecting an answer but really hoping she got one. As she listened to the phone ring and ring and ring she sighed as it clicked through to the voice mail and she hung up, "she's not answering. Has anybody rung Paul to see if he has spoken to her?"

Shane looked at his wife oddly, "in this note she says she hasn't spoken to him and she seems pretty angry at him so I doubt it."

Marissa shrugged, "I don't know, it was just an idea. Let's all be honest here though, at this moment in time we will try anything to get hold of Stephanie and make sure she is safe right?"

The other three people in the room all nodded their heads before Vince pulled out his cell phone, "I will give him a call."

In a remote part of New Hampshire Paul Levesque was not so happily enjoying some time off, this weekend he had booked off a few weeks ago because he was meant to be spending it with his girlfriend but unfortunately they had been forced to split up a few days ago and now he was sad and all alone.

Every few minutes he would look at his phone willing it to ring, willing it to be Stephanie saying that she wanted to defy her Dad's orders and be with him but as the days passed his hopes faded. When his phone lit up beside him and started to dance on the spot as it vibrated whilst ringing his heartbeat sped up and he quickly grabbed it looking at the screen and immediately frowning when he saw Vince's name, his finger hovered over 'Accept' for a second before he shook his head and hit 'Ignore' tossing the phone back down beside him.

Vince groaned when after a couple of rings he was sent to voice mail and he angrily ended the call, "he sent it to voice mail, asshole."

Linda looked at her husband with a raised eyebrow, "you made him break up with his girlfriend, it's kind of obvious he won't answer your call so let me try."

Linda took her phone out of her bag and dialled Paul's number and listened as it rang.

Hearing his phone ringing again he turned his head expecting to see Vince's name on the screen but when he saw Linda's he just rolled his eyes and pressed 'Ignore' also sending that to voice mail

When the phone went to voice mail quickly Linda frowned, "well clearly he has a problem with me too. How are we going to ask him if he won't answer the phone?"

Shane shrugged, "he has never had a problem with me so I will try."

The exact same process was repeated with Shane's phone call and it was set to voice mail but the fact that within five minutes he had three phone calls from three separate McMahon's was beginning to really piss Paul off when all he wanted was to be left alone.

Throwing his phone onto the couch beside him Shane was pissed, "okay so he won't answer my call either. Marissa you are our last hope, please."

Expecting to get the same result as everybody else she pulled out her phone and dialled Paul's number and just waited.

When his phone rang for the fourth time in less than five minutes Paul had had enough. Angrily he pressed 'Accept' before he put the phone to his ear, "fuck off, just fuck off and leave me the hell alone and that means all of your shitty family."

Marissa was taken back when the phone was picked up but she was even more surprised by the tirade that greeted her, this was definitely not the Paul she knew. Sighing heavily she bit her lip nervously, "Paul it's Marissa and this is important."

Rolling his eyes Paul expected it to be something stupid, "sorry, I kind of thought you were Vince as this is the fourth call I've had from a McMahon in under five minutes."

"Yeah about that. The reason we've all called you is because we desperately needed to get hold of you because we need to know if you've seen or spoken to Stephanie recently."

Moving from his seat on the couch he went to the window, "why would I have seen or spoken to her? Vince made us break up on Tuesday and you know it's kind of hard to go from lovers to friends so quickly. Why? What's going on?"

Raking her fingers through her hair as three sets of eyes were on her and she didn't know how to put this to Paul so she stayed silent as her mind tried to come up with something, anything, to say to him.

Sick of the silence Paul decided to press her, "Marissa? What's going on?"

Deciding she had no option but to just come out with it she blurted it out, "we're worried Stephanie may have committed suicide."

His eyes widened and he swore his heart stopped beating him a minute, "what do you mean you are worried she's committed suicide? Surely one of you has seen or heard from her?"

"That's the thing, nobody has heard from or seen her since the Smackdown taping on Tuesday. Vince thought she was angry and needed some space to cool down so he left her be for a few days but nobody can get her to answer her phone. We've all come to her house today and looked for clues as to her whereabouts or something but the only thing we've found is some sort of letter on her laptop talking about her angry she is with you for walking away and with Vince for breaking the two of you up and how miserable she is and how much better off people would be without her."

Squeezing his eyes tightly shut he hoped he was in some weird dream or Marissa was playing a sick joke on him, "you are kidding right?"

Pacing back and forth a little she sighed, "trust me I wish this was some sick joke but it's not. We are all seriously worried about Stephanie and we are trying to work out where she is, if she's okay and why she's not answering anybody's phone calls."

Running his hand over his head there was one place she **could** be but it was a real long shot, "there is somewhere I can try to see if she is there but it's a long shot because I don't know if she will be there or not."

"Where? We will go anywhere on this planet just to see her and make sure she was okay."

Walking towards the stairs he shook his head, "no Marissa, I think this is something I need to do. You stay right where you are and I will go and look in this place and let you know if she's there or not but in the mean time just keep looking for and calling her."

Ending the call Paul headed up the stairs two at a time to pack his stuff for TV the next week, if she was where he thought she was then there would be no point coming back home again so he would just book into a hotel or something nearby.

Once Marissa had hung up the phone she felt three sets of eyes on her and frowned, "what? He said he hasn't heard from her but he knows somewhere that she may be but it's a long shot so he is going to go and look for her himself and let me know what happens."

Vince looked at her incredulously, "and you believe him?"

Marissa frowned, "and you don't? I have no reason to doubt him because he genuinely sounded shocked and sickened by the idea of her committing suicide. He said to just stay here and to keep calling her."

Not wanting things to escalate Linda nodded her head, "thank you for that Marissa."


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everybody for your reviews to the first part. This is the second part of the story but I do have ideas with which I could continue it if you want so please review and let me know if you want me to continue it. I hope you enjoy it though :)

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After she had cried all of the tears she had left Stephanie pushed herself up from her place on the sand in the middle of the waves and headed back to the house. Once inside she went straight to the bedroom and stripped herself of all of her wet clothes and pulled on a pair of shorts from her suitcase and also one of Paul's sweatshirts that he had left at her house, it was far too big for her but it was comfortable, it smelt of him and it made her feel like she was in his arms again. As soon as she was dressed again she went back downstairs picking up her phone from the couch and tossed it on the window seat before she sat down making herself comfortable leaning against the wall and pulled her knees to her chest tucking them beneath the sweatshirt and stared out of the window.

The hour and a half drive felt like a lifetime to Paul, he had tried calling Stephanie a couple of times before he left home but he unsurprisingly to him hadn't received an answer so now he was just hoping and praying she was there. Pulling into the drive way he shut off the engine to his car before he grabbed his phone from the seat beside him and got out of the car gently shutting the door behind him and locked the doors.

Looking up at the house in front of him he sighed softly, he didn't know if anybody was here or even if Stephanie was here but he had to try. Walking around the back of the house he frowned when he saw a figure in the window, he would recognise the long brown hair currently tied up in a messy ponytail and that sweatshirt anywhere.

Unlocking his phone Paul quickly went into his phone book and found Marissa's number and called her, if there was any McMahon he could bear dealing with right now it was her.

It had been over an hour since Marissa had spoken to Paul and Vince was starting to think he was playing some sick game with them as they hadn't heard anything, "I don't think he really has any clue where she may be and lied to you."

Marissa frowned, "how can you say that? Why would Paul lie about it? He's not that kind of a guy."

"I made him break up with Stephanie, he's going to be mad at me and this is his revenge."

Just then Marissa's phone started ringing and when she looked at the screen she smirked, "you were saying." Answering the call she put the phone to her ear, "Paul?"

"Yeah, I've found her. I think she's okay because I can see her however I haven't spoken to her yet. I'll text you or get her to call you or something when I actually speak to her."

Expelling the breath she had been holding Marissa was relieved to hear he'd found her, "yes please. Thank you though Paul, we really appreciate it."

Shuffling his feet nervously he shrugged, "it's nothing. I'd better go though. Speak to you later Marissa."

Hanging up the phone he slipped it into his pocket before he headed for the steps to take him to the back door.

Once Paul hung up Marissa ended the call and put her phone down, "well he's found her. He hasn't spoken to her yet but he thinks she is okay. He said he'll either text me or get Stephanie to call when he speaks with her."

Linda, Vince and Shane all breathed a sigh of relief, "well at least we know she's okay . . . hopefully."

Marissa nodded, "now to just wait for the text or phone call to be certain."

Reaching the back door he turned the handle expecting it to be locked but was relieved when it opened and he stepped inside quietly shutting the door behind him before he made his way to the lounge. Leaning on the door frame he just watched her for a moment, she looked so sad and it broke his heart to see.

Pushing himself from the door frame he took a couple of steps inside of the room, "you know you have your family frantic with worry."

No matter how many times her phone would light up she didn't once glance at the screen because she just didn't care, she just wanted to be left alone but wanted the security of having a working phone. Her mind was off in another place, somewhere where she was happy and actually was enjoying life rather than this miserable existence that was her life right now. She was so caught up in her own little world she failed to hear Paul enter the house or even enter the room until he spoke to her and when he did she nearly had a heart attack. Clutching her chest she turned her head to glare at him, "what are you doing here?"

There was no mistaking the anger in her eyes or in her voice so Paul knew he was in for it now, "your family called me because they were worried about you. Apparently you haven't been answering or returning their calls and then they found what they thought was a suicide note on your laptop and panicked."

Looking at him like he was crazy she screwed up her face, "a suicide note on my laptop? How the fuck did they even get into my laptop?"

Paul shrugged walking closer to her and picked up her phone from the seat and lit up the screen, "you know I don't know how to work that shit. I didn't care to ask how they did it but it was something to do with you saying you were angry at me and your Dad and you were miserable and people would be better off if you weren't around. Steph, did you know you have one hundred and thirty two missed calls?!"

It was her turn to shrug this time, "I didn't want to speak to him or you or anyone and didn't bother checking how many times they called because I really didn't give a shit. If nobody cares about my happiness then why should I care about theirs?"

Sitting down on the edge of the window seat he reached across to put a hand on her arm but felt like someone took a knife to his heart when she flinched away from him, "I care about your happiness."

Staring at him she tried to comprehend what he had just said but it made no sense, "you care about my happiness? You told me you loved me and then YOU WALKED AWAY!"

Wincing at the way she practically screamed the last bit to him he felt guilty, "I also said that if it was meant to be it would be. Steph I know how much your Father and the wrestling business means to you, I wasn't going to make you choose between me and that because it just wouldn't be fair. I hoped that by walking away I could save you the pain of having to choose and maybe one day your Dad would give his consent again."

Stretching her bare legs out unintentionally teasing him she frowned as she wrapped her arms around herself, "I would have chosen you though, every time I would have chosen you. If I had to choose between wrestling and the love of my life then the love of my life would win every time. Paul I love you so much it hurts, these past few days have been the hardest of my life because I fell for you so hard and not having you around sucked, especially knowing this weekend was going to be our two month anniversary and I had already booked this place for us to just come away together for the weekend and snuggle up on the couch and just be together, just the two of us."

Nodding his head slowly in understanding he rubbed her leg gently, "and that's why you came here, it holds so many happy memories for you that you just wanted to be somewhere where we had been together so you could take yourself back to a time when you were happy?"

"That was the plan but it didn't work out like that as it just made me more miserable remembering how we had a water fight in the kitchen or how even though it was the middle of winter we'd gone and sat on the beach and watched the sunset together. Everywhere I look here is a memory of us together and it just reminded me every second of the day how miserable I was going to be for the rest of my life without you."

Moving around he perched himself on the edge of the seat beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gently pulled her against him until he was holding her in his arms, "I miss you so much it hurts. I want to go back to a time when we were together because I was happier then than I have ever been in my life."

Pushing against him she tried to break his grip so she could move away from him because if she stayed right where she was she would do something she would end up regretting, "bullshit. If you expect me to believe you that when we were together you were happier than you've ever been then you must think I'm an idiot. Get off me though, I don't want you touching me."

Reluctantly releasing his grip on her he stood up giving her some space as he had never seen her like this before, "please believe me Stephanie, I did what I did because I thought it was the best thing for you."

"If you did what you thought was right for me why are you here now?"

Running his hand over his hair he sighed not really wanting to relive it but if he did maybe she would open up to him, "when Marissa called me and said they thought you may have committed suicide it made me realise exactly how much I missed you in my life and the thought that I could have lost you for good was definitely not something I could live with. Stephanie, today has shown me that you are more important to me than the wrestler's approval, your Dad's consent and the business as a whole, please don't make me live without you."

Turning on the window seat so her legs were hanging over the edge dangling towards the floor she watched as he fell to his knees in front of her and put his hands on her legs looking up at her pleadingly, "please forgive me for everything I have done Steph. Please forgive me for every way in which I hurt have you and please allow me the opportunity to make it up to you and to prove my love for you to you."

Raising her eyebrow she had never pictured Paul as the pleading kind of guy and he was definitely pleading, maybe her unintentional little stunt had scared him more than she could imagine. Taking a deep breath she placed her hands over his on her legs, "I love you Paul, I don't want to live without you but I don't know if I can do this all over again."

His eyes widened and he shook his head violently, "whatever it is you need me to do for this to work I will do it. Please Steph, please give me another chance."

Rolling her eyes she shook her head, "I wasn't finished thank you. If we're to do this again we're going to have to keep it quiet because I don't want to risk losing you all over again. If we are going to get back together then for the time being we cannot tell a soul, not even our parents, that we are together so I can work on my family to get them all to convince Vince that we should be together."

Wiggling his eyebrows playfully he smiled for the first time since he had arrived, "you mean we'll have to sneak around backstage, sneak to each other's hotel rooms after the shows and go away whenever we have free time to be together?"

Nodding her head that was exactly what she meant, "yes. Nobody is allowed to know and if anybody suspects anything then we'll have to be more careful and brush it off that we are just friends okay?"

At this point he would agree to anything to have her back in his arms so he could call her his girlfriend again even if it was just in secret for the time being, "deal. But you must tell your family you're okay and never, and I mean **never** run off like that and give me a heart attack again."

Bending forward she pressed a soft teasing kiss to the side of his mouth, "the only running off I'll be doing will be with you so we can spend some time together. Do my family know about here?"

Violently he shook his head, "no. I didn't want to tell them incase you weren't here so they have no idea."

Moving to sit back on the window seat so she could see out of the window she patted the seat beside her, "good, that is the way we will keep it too. This can be our safe house, our home away from home, the place we go when we have time off."

"But we won't be able to have it when they lease it out over the summer."

Shrugging her shoulders she picked up her phone as he moved off of the floor, "I have money, I will lease it out for the rest of the year and I'm sure the owner won't care because she's guaranteed money for every day of every week until the end of the year."

Sitting down beside her he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as he got comfortable, "you really mean it huh? We really can't tell a soul about us?"

Nodding her head she leant back against him leaning into him and briefly closing her eyes as she allowed his cologne to invade her senses and to allow herself to enjoy the feel of his body against her back, "I really mean it. So are you in?"

Kissing the side of her head he nodded his head, "I'm in."

Smiling a smile that reached her eyes for the first time since they had had to break it off she felt genuinely happy as she turned her attention to her phone and tapped out a text to her sister-in-law:

_I'm fine. Just tell everybody to leave me alone as I need space, especially from Vince. Steph xx_

They were all sat there anxiously awaiting news from Paul when Marissa's phone beeped and practically everybody dived for it but she grabbed it, "my phone, back off."

Everyone took a step back as she opened the text and had a read of it before her face fell, "well she says she's fine but she wants to be left alone and needs space . . . especially from Vince and yes, she called you Vince in the text."

Linda frowned as she turned to look at her husband, "well you've gone and done it this time, I hope you're happy with yourself."

Sighing Vince hung his head. There was nothing he could say to change their minds because it was true, he really had messed things up this time and he didn't know if it would ever be fixed but he hoped one day that it would be.

Once Stephanie had sent the text she cleared her missed calls list before she threw the phone down by her feet and turned her head to look at Paul who was staring at her, "what?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "just thinking how stupid I was to walk away from you. I love you and I will show my love for you and thanks to you for taking me back from now until the day I die."

Sitting up slightly she turned around a little placing her hand on his chest, "are you that confident we'll be together forever?"

Without missing a beat he nodded his head, "absolutely. I love you."

Smiling softly she rubbed his chest gently, "I love you too."

They both leant forward and shared a soft but sweet kiss before they pulled away and she turned back to the window relaxing back against his chest as he wrapped his other arm around her waist holding onto her tightly.

Breaking up was hard to do but it made them stronger now they were back together where they should be and it made them appreciate what they had so much more.


	3. Chapter 3

There was an overwhelming majority of people who wanted to see this story continue so continuing it is what I shall be doing. I hope you enjoy this :)

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It felt like she had spent a lifetime in his arms but truthfully it was only a couple of hours that they had spent squashed onto the window seat together watching the people and their dogs playing on the beach beneath them.

Eventually her appetite started to return and she wanted something to eat but she didn't know what, "I'm hungry."

Paul laughed softly at the way she randomly blurted it out among the silence that had enveloped them, "well I will make you something to eat then. What would her Royal Highness like to eat?"

Shrugging her shoulders she pushed herself a little closer to him, "I don't want you to cook for me, I want us to go out to dinner."

Shaking his head he couldn't help but smile a little, "okay then, so where would you like to go and eat?"

Turning around carefully she smiled brightly as she faced him, "I want to go to that Italian place we found when we were here."

He couldn't help the laugh that passed his lips, "you mean the one we ate at every night?"

Nodding her head enthusiastically she pushed herself up onto her knees excitedly, "exactly. So can we? Please?"

As she put the puppy dog eyes on he crumbled, it wasn't that he wasn't going to agree to it but the puppy dog eyes were the killer, "yes we can go and eat there but first I think you need to change."

Clambering over him she was quickly stood on the floor, "I'm going. I'll be back in like five minutes."

Nodding his head he swung his legs around so he could stand up, "you mean five hours. I'm going to go and grab my things from the car a minute though so I will be back."

Pressing a quick kiss to his lips she headed off to get changed. It wasn't so much the restaurant that she was excited over but going there with Paul would help her forget that this past week had happened or at least help her pretend that it hadn't anyway. Taking the stairs two at a time she was soon in the bedroom and now just had to find something to wear as she hadn't exactly brought anything sexy or dressy with her.

Walking out to his car Paul had doubts about the decision he'd made to not tell anyone he was back with Stephanie, as much as he wanted to be with her and as fun as the sneaking around would be there was something about deceiving Vince that didn't sit well with him. Nothing would make him change his mind or alter his decision to be with her but it didn't mean he had to like the circumstances.

Opening the trunk of his car he pulled out his suitcase and bag placing them on the floor before he slammed the trunk shut and headed back inside.

Pulling on a pair of jeans and a slinky tank top she'd brought to wear at TV she grabbed her denim jacket from the floor where she'd thrown it and bending down she grabbed her boots from her suitcase before heading back downstairs.

Paul was just entering the lounge to head to the stairs when he saw Stephanie walking towards him, "damn girl, where's the fire? You changed faster than the speed of light."

Poking her tongue out at him she sat down on the couch to put her shoes on, "I didn't have many choices on what to wear so it didn't take long. I can go and take longer if you wish."

Vigorously he shook his head, "no you're okay thanks, it makes a nice change for you to be ready in under fifteen minutes."

She smiled brightly proud of herself, "I know. Now go and put those bags upstairs so we can leave please."

Not saying another word he headed for the stairs, after growing up with an older sister he knew better to argue with a woman on a mission.

No more than two minutes later he was back downstairs and standing in front of her, "okay so I'm ready to go now."

Standing up from her seat on the couch she took hold of his hand and led him towards the door.

The short walk to the restaurant was taken in silence as they walked hand in hand through the streets taking in the sights around them.

Arriving at the restaurant Paul opened the door for Stephanie allowing her to walk inside first before he followed with the heat inside the restaurant causing their faces to tingle. Shutting the door behind him he led Stephanie over to the hostess' table and waited for somebody to realise they were there and to come out to see to them.

A few seconds passed before a blur came rushing out of the back of the restaurant, "I'm sorry I'm sorry. I had my hands full and couldn't greet you in an quick time." Stopping in front of the table the gentlemen took in the sight of the people in front of him and smiled warmly, "Mr Paul, Miss Stephanie, it's so good to see you again."

Paul playfully frowned, "were we that bad as diners that you remember our faces and will now kick us out Gino?"

Gino shook his head smiling warmly at the couple, "of course not Mr Paul, it's just trade is quiet at this time of year and it's not hard to remember such a beautiful lady and such a large gentleman. Is it just the two of you tonight?"

Stephanie smacked Paul gently in the stomach before he could say anything cheeky, "yes it is just the two of us. It's good to see you again though Gino."

Nodding his head Gino picked up a couple of menus, "follow me please."

Leading them to the corner booth in the back of the restaurant he sat them there in privacy so they were out of the way as when they were last in the area they were interrupted by a couple of fans during their dinner a couple of times.

Sitting down in the set that Paul held out for her she smiled softly at him before turning her attention to Gino as Paul sat down and handed them their menus, "thank you."

Gino nodded his head, "you're welcome. What would you like to drink whilst you look at the menu?"

Paul smiled, "I'll have a water please."

Playfully rolling her eyes at him she shook her head, "I will have a white wine please."

Nodding his head in acknowledgement Gino rushed off to get them their drinks.

Once Gino had left Paul playfully glared at Stephanie, "why did you hit me earlier?"

"Because I know you, I knew you were going to make some smart ass comment and I wanted to make sure you didn't."

Feigning hurt he put his hand over his heart, "you don't know how much that hurts me."

As much as she knew he was joking she couldn't help what slipped out next, "not quite as much as it hurt when you told me you loved me and then you walked away." The minute she realised what she had said her hand flew to her mouth covering it, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it."

Trying not to be angry at her he shrugged his shoulders, "I think you did but I deserved it."

Silence fell over them as they looked at the menus in front of them with neither really knowing what to say anymore.

Gino interrupted the silence by returning with their drinks and taking their food orders before leaving again forcing silence to come over the table once again.

Dinner was awkward between them with neither of them really knowing what to say because they were certain that the other was angry with them.

After they had finished dinner they got up and headed to the hostess' table again to pay for dinner. Standing in front of Gino with his credit card in hand Paul held it towards him, "we'd like to pay please."

Hesitating briefly before he took the credit card he started to process it but stopped midway through, "I hope you don't mind me saying but I couldn't help but notice the way the two of you were silent over dinner when last time you were here the two of you didn't stop talking. Is everything okay?"

Paul looked at Stephanie not knowing what to say because he didn't want to get himself in any more trouble today.

Sighing softly at the look Paul was giving her Stephanie looked at Gino, "we had an enforced break and we've just gotten back together so things are weird between us."

Gino frowned hearing about the break up, "I am sorry to hear about the two of you splitting up, I thought the two of you were perfect together."

Looking at Paul wistfully she sighed softly, "you and me both."

Finishing up the transaction Gino handed the card back to Paul, "I do hope I've not offended you and you will come back again on your next visit."

Stephanie took hold of Paul's hand and held on tightly, "don't worry, I'm sure we will be back plenty of times between now and the end of the year."

Gino smiled brightly, "have a good evening." Waving as the two of them walked away he then went back to cleaning.

Once they were outside the restaurant Paul stopped, "are we going to be okay?"

Shrugging her shoulders she kept a tight grip on his hand not wanting to let him go, "I don't know. I want us to be okay but maybe it will take time for us to be okay again?"

Fully aware of her desire to not let him go by the vice like grip she had on his hand he nodded his head, "I hope so, I don't want this to be it for us."


	4. Chapter 4

Walking back from the restaurant they stayed silent locked inside their own thoughts until they reached the house. Reaching the steps to go back up into the house Stephanie stopped before she turned around and looked at the beach, "I want to sit on the beach."

Nodding his head slowly Paul wasn't sure what she meant, "alone? I don't mind if it is alone but if you want me to sit with you I'll do that too."

Smiling softly she nodded her head, "yes, I'd like to sit on the beach with you."

Turning around he tugged on her hand gently, "come on then, let's go and find us a nice soft spot on the sand."

Laughing softly she quickly moved directly beside him as they walked looking at him occasionally and thanking her lucky stars he came to find her. Once they reached the beach they walked a little way along the beach before Paul stopped, "I think here would be nice, we have a nice view over the ocean."

Pleased with his choice she turned to look at him with a soft smile on her face, "it's perfect. Shall we take a seat?"

Quickly taking the hint Paul slowly lowered himself to the cold and slightly damp sand stretching his legs out in front of him as the waves crashed along the shore drawing his attention away from Stephanie to look at them.

Once Paul was seated Stephanie moved between his legs and took a seat on the sand before she shuffled back to lean against his chest.

Surprised when she stood between his legs he half expected to get kicked in the face but when she sat down and then shuffled back to lean against his chest he couldn't help the smile that passed his lips. Wrapping his arms loosely around her waist he pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head, "perfect."

Turning her head to look at him briefly she smiled before rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes just listening to the soothing sound of the waves crashing against the shore. To some it wouldn't be a soothing sound but to her it was soothing as it made her feel like if the ocean was crashing against the shore then her world wouldn't come crashing down around her.

Neither of them knew or cared how long they'd been sat in the cold on the beach but as it got darker and they started to lose feeling in their toes they knew it was time to head inside.

Reluctantly moving slightly away from his chest she turned to look at him with a soft smile on her face, "let's go inside now and go and warm up in bed."

Wiggling his eyebrows he smiled cheekily, "I am in agreement with this."

Rolling her eyes she pushed herself up off of the floor, "oh shut up, I did not mean that and you know it."

Standing up he brushed himself down to get rid of the sand, "I didn't know that you didn't mean that. I'm not a psychic and you are the one who said about us going to bed."

"Well yes, I've lost feeling in my toes so I want to crawl into bed and get right under the covers and warm myself up."

Slipping his hand into hers he led her back towards the house, "well as long as I can have a blanket I will make myself a bed on the couch."

Stopping in her tracks she looked at him angry at what he was saying, "why the hell do you want to do that? Am I not good enough to sleep next to if you're not getting sex?"

Sighing softly he shook his head realising he had fucked things up now, "no, not in the slightest. I was only kidding about us having sex because I just assumed that I'd be sleeping on the couch. I don't know what to do for the best today, I feel like anything I do or say will be wrong and I just don't want to lose you again."

Frowning a little she realised he was as worried about it all as she was, "I don't want to lose you again either but I don't want you to worry about what you're doing or saying. If we're going to be back together then we're going to be back together, we don't need to go back to the beginning all over again, we just need to pick up where we left off and continue . . . or as best as we can anyway. I want you to share the bed with me, I don't want to sleep with you tonight but I do want to cuddle with you."

Leaning forward he pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "thank you for your honesty, I know where I stand now and I feel more relaxed about things. Let's go inside and crawl into bed where we can cuddle up and enjoy each other."

Sniggering lowly at his choice of words she just turned around and walked off with him trailing behind her utterly bemused.

Her sniggering and then walking off confused him. Following behind her he just had to know why she laughed, "what is it?"

Not answering she kept walking until they reached the stairs up to the house and then she let go of his hand to hold the railing as she walked up the stairs to prevent herself from falling. Reaching the top of the stairs she put the key in the door before she unlocked it and stepped inside. Once inside she flipped a light on before she turned to Paul and laughed at the sad puppy dog look he had on his face, "what is your problem?"

Walking into the house he shut the door firmly behind him, "you laughed at me, that's just mean."

Rolling her eyes she stepped closer and gently patted his cheek with her hand, "aww diddums, poor ickle baby. I laughed because you said we can 'cuddle up and enjoy each other' and that sounded every bit like you were hinting at sex but I know you didn't mean it like that."

Sighing with relief he realised now how he had slightly gone over the top with the pouting, "oh I see, that makes sense now. I'm glad you knew I didn't mean it because I really didn't, I promise."

Reaching behind him she locked the door before she pulled the key out and placed it on the counter, "I did so don't worry about it. Now can we go and crawl into bed please? I'm still freezing cold."

Shrugging his shoulders he had no problem with her suggestion and quickly bent down hoisting her over his shoulder before he stood back up and walked towards the door, "your wish is my command."

As he continued his journey towards the stairs Stephanie kicked her legs and screamed, "put me down!"

Laughing he smacked her ass a couple of times, "no."

Continuing towards the stairs he carried her up the stairs and to the master bedroom before he playfully slammed her onto the bed, "you're down."

Pushing herself up onto her elbows she glared at him, "no shit. Did you have to carry me up the stairs?"

Walking to his suitcase he shook his head, "nah, I didn't **have** to but I did **want** to if that makes a difference to you."

Grumbling lowly she moved to the edge of the bed, "asshole."

Shrugging off his jacket he put it on the back of the chair before he pulled his t-shirt up over his head and tossed it at her, "yes but you'll still sleep in this asshole's t-shirt."

Catching the t-shirt as it was thrown her way she nodded her head, "yes I will but you won't get to watch me undress."

With that said she walked off towards the bathroom with an extra swing in her hips teasing him because she could. She smiled as she walked away holding his t-shirt closer to her chest, it made her happy knowing how he remembered how much she liked sleeping in his t-shirts. Despite only being split up for a few days she didn't think he would remember as he never offered them to her before, she just took them.

As he watched her walk away he shook his head, "that woman will be the death of me."


	5. Chapter 5

Waking up on Sunday morning Stephanie found herself wrapped up in Paul's arms with her head resting on his chest and it brought a smile to her face as this was the exact position she had gone to sleep in.

Lifting her head from his chest to see him still appearing to be sound asleep she lifted her hand and brushed a stray lock of hair behind his ear, he looked so peaceful and so happy that it just made her smile. As his eyes shot open she jumped a mile pulling back away from him, "Jesus Christ, are you trying to kill me? How long have you been awake?"

Shrugging his shoulders he rolled onto his side so he could watch her better, "a while, I was just enjoying holding you in my arms. I know today is the last time for a few days that I can fully relax with you in my arms and was just making the most of it. I didn't mean to scare you."

Pressing her lips together in a tight line she playfully glared at him, "well I don't believe you, I think you need to make it up to me."

Smirking he wrapped his arms quickly around her waist and pulled her crashing against his chest as he rolled back onto his back, "I can do this."

Slapping her hand gently against his chest before she pushed herself away from him and sat up, "I didn't mean that."

Moving to sit up he rested his chin on her shoulder, "I know and I'm sorry." Turning around he stretched his one leg out behind her and stretched the other one over her lap gently before he wrapped his arms around her from the side, "I just wanted to have some fun, I wanted to be carefree in your company because I know for the next two days we're going to have to be on our guard and we won't be able to be carefree."

Closing her eyes she leant to the side so she could lean against his chest and rest her head on his shoulder, "I know and it isn't nice to think about which is why I don't want to think about that and I want to focus on this, on us, on today."

Pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head he rubbed her back gently, "your wish is my command."

Back in Connecticut and Vince was brooding over the lack of contact with Stephanie, "why has she not rung?"

Linda looked at her husband over the kitchen table where she was doing some work, "maybe because she's mad with you and doesn't want to speak to you Vince. She did say she wanted to be left alone."

"I don't care what she said in the text, I only care about talking to my daughter. I think I'm going to give her a call."

As he picked his cell phone up off of the table it was snatched from his hand before he could do anything with it, "what are you doing?"

Linda was stood with phone in hand glaring at her husband, "she told Marissa to tell everybody to leave her alone as she needed space, especially from you and she even called you Vince. If you want any hope of ever getting her to like you again then I suggest you do exactly as she wishes and leave her alone."

"She does like me now, she's just mad at me."

Linda frowned, "I would not be so sure of that right now. Just do us all a favour and leave her alone until she is ready to come back because I do not want you pushing her even further away."

Frowning he sat back down in his seat, "fine, it does not mean I have to like it though."

"I never said you did have to like it, you just have to do it. Do you promise to not call or text her if I give you your phone back?"

Reluctantly he nodded his head, "yes I promise."

Handing him back the phone Linda sat back down to finish her work, "good."

Placing the phone on the table beside him Vince clasped his hands placing them on the table before he leant on them, "so why are you sat at the kitchen table doing work on a Sunday? Why aren't you in your office?"

Lifting her head from where she had been staring at her laptop she smiled at him, "because I don't trust you not to harass Stephanie, well that's why I'm out here. The reason I'm doing work today is just because I am a little behind as I didn't do any work yesterday so I just want to catch up before work tomorrow."

"I'm sorry about this Linda, I really am."

Removing her glasses she placed them on the table, "I don't think I am the person you need to be telling this to am I? Vince I appreciate that you felt like you were doing the right thing for business but you've really hurt Steph and I don't know how long it will take for her to get over this."

For the first time Vince really was worried, "you mean you don't think it will be a simple case of her taking a couple of days off and then come tomorrow at Raw everything will be okay and she will have forgiven me?"

Putting her glasses back on Linda ignored the question and went back to her work, she didn't want to tell her husband that there was a high possibility that his daughter who he absolutely adored was incredibly pissed off with him and wouldn't forgive him any time soon.

The silence spoke volumes to Vince but he still wanted to hear the words come out of her mouth. Grabbing hold of her laptop carefully he pulled it across the table towards him to prevent her from working, "Linda, I asked you a question."

Sighing heavily she rubbed her face wearily, "okay fine, you want the truth? I don't think it will be a simple case of her forgiving you after spending a few days away from everything. She really loves or loved him and I don't think it will be easy for her to move past this because she could see everything she ever wanted in her life like marriage and kids being with him and now she doesn't have it she's understandably going to be hurting. You cannot push her on this or push her to forgive you or you will just push her further away. I know you love Stephanie and I'm sure deep down she knows that too but right now she's hurting too much to rationalise that you did what you thought was right for business, all she can see is how much you've hurt her in favour of pleasing the boys."

Studying his wife's face intently he wanted to see signs of deceit there but all he could see was the truth, "do you think she will even turn up to work tomorrow? Do you think she'll even work with Paul?"

"She may be mad at you and upset over the situation but she's not going to run away from her responsibilities so I am positive that she will be at Raw and I am sure that she will be able to work with Paul, it will be the only chance she gets to pretend like what she imagined is actually reality. If I were you I would cut her some slack this week with the shows, she won't be unprofessional because I know my daughter but she is likely to be cold with you."

Frowning Vince was slightly annoyed by what his wife was saying, "if your intention is to make me feel guilty then it's working."

Shrugging her shoulders Linda reached for her laptop pulling it closer to her again, "my intention is not to make you feel guilty, my intention is to make you realise exactly what mess you have caused and the lingering effect it will have on your relationship with your daughter."

Pushing his chair back scraping it across the kitchen floor Vince stood up, "yes I get it, I fucked up and I have to live with the consequences. I am going to work out."

Sighing as she watched her husband storm out of the room she shook her head and muttered, "I never said that."


	6. Chapter 6

Packing her suitcase again Stephanie sighed and gave in halfway through flopping back onto the bed and staring at the ceiling.

Paul had taken his bags downstairs ready to take out to his car when they were ready to leave and he spent a few minutes tidying up the downstairs whilst Stephanie was packing. Once he was satisfied the downstairs was tidy he went back upstairs to see how she was doing and if she needed any help getting her suitcases downstairs but when he walked into the bedroom it still kind of looked like a bomb had hit it and she was laying on the bed staring at the ceiling, "you do realise you've not finished packing yet don't you?"

Without turning her head to look at him she shrugged her shoulders, "maybe I'm having second thoughts about going to Raw and am just planning to stay here."

Moving to sit on the edge of the bed he stroked the top of her head gently, "of course you are, I mean you're absolutely going to want to miss out on the entire world calling you a slut."

Tilting her head back a little so she could look at his face she frowned, "are you making fun of me?"

His eyes widened and his hand flew to his mouth in mock horror, "me? Make fun of you? Would I ever do that? I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to skip out on Raw and Smackdown so they don't call you a slut but I know you, I know you're far too professional to skip them for those reasons and you feed off them calling you those names anyway."

Moving to sit up she turned to face him fully, "so what exactly are you trying to say?"

Shrugging his shoulders he put on his best innocent face, "I think you want to skip Raw and Smackdown because you don't want to face your Dad."

"My Dad? Do you mean Vince?"

Gulping at the way she called him Vince he nodded his head slowly, "yes Vince."

Staring at him she crossed her arms over her chest, "and why would you think it is he that I want to avoid?"

Moving away from her slightly he had a bad feeling right now, "because you're angry with him and you've suddenly stopped packing, I'm only trying to figure out why you are reluctant to go."

Sighing she collapsed to the side against the pillows, "I don't know what to do Paul. I have to go to Raw and Smackdown, I have to face him, I have to work with him but I am still so angry that I don't know how I will do it and I kind of just want to skip the shows so I don't have to."

Moving to lean against the pillows so he was facing her he reached across and stroked her cheek gently, "you will have to face him eventually but the longer you put it off the harder it will get for you."

Rolling her eyes at him she shook her head, "do you have to talk such sense?"

Smirking playfully he pushed himself up a little from the pillows, "I don't have to but it's a lot of fun when I do."

A small smile passed her lips as she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, "you're such a smartass."

"But I made you smile so in my opinion my work here is done."

Sitting up she brushed her fingers through her hair, "I guess I'd better finish this packing if we're going to get into town before the rest of the wrestlers arrive and maybe one of us could sneak into the other's room and maybe have dinner together."

Chuckling at her desire to change the subject from her Dad he couldn't help but just go along with it, "well you know if you want help packing your underwear I'm more than happy to help."

Looking at him briefly with a disgusted look on her face she slapped his chest before she laughed and shook her head, "unfortunately for you I've already packed it."

Shrugging his shoulders he got up and quickly moved to her suitcase, "I could always unpack it just so I can help."

Scrambling from her her seat on the bed she grabbed his arm before he could start unpacking her bag, "don't you dare or I will kill you."

Pulling his arm away from her suitcase he was pleased that he had got her off the bed and she seemed to not be thinking about her Dad any more.

Turning to grab a pile of clothes from beside Paul she saw the look of mischief in his eye and shook her head, "you are in deep shit."

Pouting he gave her his best puppy dog look, "I'm sorry, I was just trying to take your mind off of things."

Forgetting the clothes she wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a hug, "thank you." Slowly pulling away from the hug she smiled softly, "well if you really want to help you can pass me things to put in the suitcase."

Laughing he reached for the first pile of clothes, "deal."

Ten minutes later and Paul was carrying her suitcase downstairs whilst Stephanie just made sure she had everything. Walking down the stairs slowly she really didn't want to reach the bottom but she knew it was inevitable. As she reached the bottom she looked up the stairs one last time before she grabbed her jacket from the arm of the couch and pulled it on, "I'm ready."

Running his hand over his hair Paul had put on a strong front but he was as worried as she was about going to Raw but not for the same reason as she was. Paul was concerned about going to Raw because he had to come face to face with his boss and lie to him about his relationship with Stephanie. Would he change things and dump her just so he didn't have to lie to Vince? Absolutely not, he would go back and wouldn't have dumped her in the first place. What was done was done and he couldn't change it but he was damn sure not going to let her slip away this time and would do whatever the hell it took to keep her in his life.

It was hard for her not to notice the way his eyes had glazed over and he didn't respond to the questions she was asking him so she just walked over to him and slipped her hand into his noticing the way he jumped at the contact, "are you okay?"

Nodding his head he looked her in the eyes and slipped his fingers through hers squeezing her hand gently, "I am now. Let's get going and see if we can manage what you promised."

Laughing she removed her hand from his, "sounds good to me. You take the bags and I'll lock up the house."

Pressing a soft kiss to her lips before he turned and opened the door before he picked up the bags and headed out to the car, they had quite a drive ahead of them but it would just give them some more time together.

Once he had left with the bags she did a final sweep of the lounge picking up her purse from the floor before she walked out of the door shutting and locking it firmly behind her. Walking down the steps she turned to look at the house once she was at the bottom, she wasn't sure why but she had a feeling she would be wishing she'd stayed here by the time the week was over.


	7. Chapter 7

Four hours later and they just arrived at the hotel, they were both starving hungry but neither wanted to go out to eat. Sighing as he pulled the car into a parking spot Paul was glad the journey was over as he was starting to get uncomfortable but it just brought him closer to seeing Vince. Turning his head to look at Stephanie he frowned seeing her with her head leaning against the window just staring outside, "you ready to check in? I'm starving."

Turning to look at him she raised her eyebrow, "that sounded so romantic."

Shrugging his shoulders he pulled the keys from the engine, "what can I say? It is clearly a gift I have where everything I say sounds romantic."

Rolling her eyes at him she pushed herself up from her position leaning on the door of the car and undid her seatbelt, "yeah, you make me just want to fall into bed with you."

Taking note of the rather large amount of sarcasm in her voice he didn't know how to respond so just opened the door and popped the trunk before he climbed out. Walking around to the back of the car he pulled the bags out of the trunk before he slammed the trunk shut and waited for her to climb out of the car.

Not receiving a response to what she thought was a joke other than him climbing silently out of the car made her worried, she had apparently pissed him off now and she really didn't meant to. Reluctantly she climbed out of the car and walked over to where he was stood with the bags, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to piss you off."

Shrugging his shoulders he moved to lock the car.

Realising that he was shutting her out she grabbed his arm before he could reach the car, "Paul I am sorry, I'm taking my fear out on you and I didn't mean to. Please don't be mad at me, I don't want you to be mad at me."

Looking into her eyes he frowned and felt his anger disappearing, "I'm not mad."

"You were though."

Laughing softly he shrugged, "maybe a little. You were kind of funny with me."

Nodding her head she shuffled her feet nervously, "I'm sorry, I guess just this whole thing has me on edge and I am taking it out on you."

Picking up the bags he sighed, "you're not the only one who is having trouble with this. I'm sorry though, I miss you and I want to be with you and I just hate that we're so stressed."

Carefully looking around to make sure that none of the wrestlers were around and she slipped her arm around his so she was holding onto his arm gently, "and this is why you are going to sneak into my room and we are going to have dinner together."

Turning his head with a raised eyebrow he was amused that she had planned it all out for him, "is this so. What if I disagree with your plans?"

Smirking she leaned closer so she could whisper in his ear, "then you won't get to scrub my back when I take a shower."

His eyes widened and he looked vaguely outraged, "you said that here and now? How could you?"

Laughing at his reaction she pulled away from him, "I think you can call it motivation."

"Or just plain teasing."

Continuing to pretend to be outraged he playfully stomped towards the entrance of the hotel walking inside and not even holding the door open for her.

Watching as he walked into the hotel and let the door shut behind him she shook her head at his behaviour, he didn't normally act like that but she could tell it was all in fun so she was okay with it.

Following him into the hotel they both checked into the hotel, once they had the keys they walked to the elevator together.

Standing waiting for the elevator she took a moment to just admire his body before she said, "so if you give me my bags I'll take them to my room and you can take your bags to your room and then you can come over to mind and we can order dinner."

Looking at her with a glint in his eye that only led to mischief he smirked, "and if I don't want to come to your room and order dinner?"

The doors to the elevator pinged open and an older couple walked off before Stephanie stepped inside silently before she put her bags down and leant against the railing with her finger ready to press the number for her floor, "then you can sit in yours all miserable and alone."

Just as the doors to the elevator started to shut he put his hand out to prevent them, "you are so mean to me. You could come to mine, I don't have to come to yours."

Stepping inside the elevator quickly he watched as the doors shut and Stephanie pressed the number for the floor her room was on. Leaning across her so close that he could feel breath dancing across the skin of his face he pressed the number for his floor before he pulled away taking notice of the way her eyes were closed and her breathing was a little heavier.

Having him leaning across her so close that she could smell his aftershave was torture for her, she wanted to just curl up in his arms and never leave them. She was brought out of her trance like state by the feel of his eyes on her so she slowly opened her eyes to look at him, "what?"

Shrugging his shoulders he leant against the wall nonchalantly, "nothing."

Not able to take the torture any longer she closed the small distance between them and pressed her body against his before she let her arms slip around his neck and her lips caress his gently just before the elevator came to a jerking stop as they reached his floor. Pulling away from him as the doors started to open she smiled innocently, "I'm in room 609 if you're bored."

Paul's mouth opened and closed to reply but he just couldn't get his brain to move past the kiss and the way her body had felt against him, it was like she was teasing him but it was only fair as he had teased her by leaning closer to her than he needed to. Silently he picked up his bags and walked off the elevator before the doors shut, he turned around just in time to see her giving him a sly wave as the doors closed completely.

Stephanie had no idea what had come over her when she kissed him like she did but he was her boyfriend so in her mind she could do that if she wished. The short ride to her floor passed uneventfully and soon she was sliding her key card into her door relieved when it opened and she could step inside, throw her bags on the floor, kick off her shoes and then collapse onto her bed and that was where she was going to stay until Paul arrived.

Walking into his hotel room Paul threw his bag into the corner before he stood his suitcase up against the wall. Briefly thinking about just waiting and being patient before he went to her room he decided he didn't want to wait so sliding his key card into his pocket he left the room almost as quickly as he had entered it and proceeded towards the elevator to head up to Stephanie's room.


	8. Chapter 8

Walking towards the elevator after he left his room he paid careful attention of the people he passed to make sure that it wasn't any of the other wrestlers or divas. Calling the elevator he waited patiently for it to arrive and when it did he was relieved it was empty. Immediately stepping inside he hit the number six and waited. The short distance up to Stephanie's floor was an anxious time for him, he just wanted to get to her without being noticed. Arriving in front of Stephanie's hotel room door he knocked gently and waited to be allowed in.

It had to have been no more than ten minutes since Stephanie had arrived at her hotel room when there was a knock on the door. Pushing herself up from the bed she walked towards the door at a moderate pace so she wasn't too eager but didn't keep him waiting too long incase they got caught. Swinging the door open she smiled seeing Paul on the other side and playfully pulled him inside by the sides of his jacket.

Stumbling into the hotel room he was amused by the greeting, "well hello to you too."

Taking a quick look out of the door she was satisfied that the corridor was empty so shut the door firmly, "did anybody see you?"

Shaking his head he shrugged off his jacket, "no, well not any of the wrestlers but obviously I saw other people who are staying here."

Nodding her head she was satisfied with that answer, "okay good."

Paul stood there for a minute and just stared at her hoping she would get the hint but when she didn't move he shook his head, "do I not get a proper welcome?"

Blushing she ducked her head briefly feeling guilty before she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and moved onto tiptoes and kissed his cheek, "I'm sorry."

Smiling softly when she rested her head on his chest he slipped his arms around her waist and held it before placing a soft kiss to the top of her head, "it's okay."

After a minute she pulled away and took a seat on the bed and was soon joined by Paul who bent down to undo his shoes. Once his shoes were undone he sat back up and kicked them off with his feet, "so what are we going to have for dinner?"

Turning to look at him slightly outraged she shook her head, "so no cuddling? Straight here and you immediately want dinner huh?"

Nodding he smiled sweetly, "we can order dinner and then cuddle whilst we wait for it to arrive and then we don't have to keep moving out of each other's arms."

Moving to the phone she sat by the edge of the bed, "do you know what you want?"

Laughing softly he nodded, "I'd like a steak medium rare and some fries will be fine if they don't have mash please."

Nodding her head she picked up the phone and dialled down to reception and started ordering their dinner. When it came to the lady at Reception asking if she wanted dessert she turned to look at Paul, "do we want dessert?"

Turning her attention back to the phone she ordered their drinks completely forgetting about what she had asked Paul about dessert.

Paul had no plans to have dessert but when Stephanie offered it and then turned her attention away from him he decided to attempt to have some fun with her, "I'd like some dessert please."

Feeling slightly distracted between listening to Paul and the lady from Reception, "okay what is it Paul?"

Sensing the distraction he smirked, "I'd like some pancakes each cut into the shape of a duck."

Starting to relay the message she said, "can we have some pancakes cut in . . ." When he brain caught up with what he had asked she stopped talking and turned to look at Paul and hissed, "in the shape of ducks?"

Unable to contain his laughter Paul started laughing which just earnt him a glare from his girlfriend as she turned her attention back to the phone and simply asked for plain pancakes.

Finishing up the order Stephanie put the phone down before she turned to Paul and glared at him, "what the fuck was that about?"

Composing himself he looked at her with an innocent smile on his face, "you were so distracted, I wanted to see what I could get away with. Can we cuddle now though please? We've missed valuable cuddle time having to order food as we're hungry."

Crossing her arms over her chest she pouted, "I don't know that I want to cuddle with you any longer."

Moving around the bed to sit right beside her he laid his head on her shoulder and pouted, "I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to upset you."

Tilting her head to rest the side of her head on the top of his she sighed softly, "you promise?"

Sliding his arms around her waist and not moving his head he rubbed her side softly not able to nod his head, "I promise. I just wanted to see how much I could get away with, I genuinely thought you would have noticed the second I said it. I am sorry if you're upset by it though and I understand if you want me to leave."

Lifting her head from his she attempted to turn a little in his arms, "I don't want you to leave, you can't leave me."

Gripping hold of him as tightly as she could manage she didn't want him walking out of the door because she was afraid he wouldn't walk back in.

Sensing that something wasn't right by the grip she had on him he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, "then I'm staying right here with you baby. Shall we get comfortable and cuddle on the bed?"

Nodding her head she reluctantly released her grip from around his waist and moved onto the bed not taking her eyes off of him as she moved. A little voice inside of her head told her that he suggested cuddling because he was going to run for the door but she hoped not which was why she continued to watch him.

Feeling her eyes on him constantly he lifted his gaze to hers and smiled soflty as she moved to the top of the bed and got comfortable against the pillows at which point he moved up the bed and lay down next to her getting himself comfortable also.

Once Paul seemed comfortable she moved closer to him and lay down next to him resting her head on his chest and draping her arm possessively over his waist.

Wrapping his arms around her waist he held her close before kissing the top of her head, "this is where I'm meant to be."

Nodding her head against his chest she closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of his aftershave allowing her emotions to boil over and a lone tear to slip down her cheek whispering, "please don't leave me again."

Lifting his hand from her waist to run it through her hair gently to attempt to soothe her he felt so bad that she was affected so deeply, "I promise baby, I'm never going to leave you again."

Things may be hard for her right now but he could only hope as the days passed things got easier and she could relax in the knowledge that he wasn't going to leave her again.


	9. Chapter 9

Stephanie liked laying in Paul's arms, she felt safe and secure and right now she felt happy but she knew it wouldn't last when tomorrow came.

The two of them had been cuddling on the bed for about twenty minutes when her phone beeped so reluctantly she removed herself from his arms and walked over to the bag and pulled it out to read who it was from. Groaning when she saw it was from her Mom she contemplated not opening the text but decided to do it anyway:

_Are you going to be at Raw tomorrow?_

Rolling her eyes she tossed her phone onto the bed not really caring where it landed before she fell back onto the bed and crawled up to cuddle with Paul again.

Watching the way her face fall as she read her text he frowned as she just tossed her phone onto the bed and watched as it bounced off onto the floor so he bent down to pick it up as she climbed back onto the bed. Placing the phone beside him on the bed he got comfortable as she lay back down with him, "so what has your phone ever done to you?"

Moving to sit against the head of the bed she frowned, "my Mom's checking to make sure I will be at Raw. Yeah, just because Vince is an asshole I'm totally going to blow off my job."

Mimicking her pose he crossed his arms over his chest like her, "well you did just disappear, you can't blame your Mom for asking."

"Are you on her side?"

Looking at her shocked he shook his head, "no, most definitely I am not. Maybe you should text her back and tell her that you're already at the hotel so then she won't worry."

Turning to look at him she raised her eyebrow, "do you want Vince to come by and interrupt our evening?"

Chuckling he shook his head, "no I do not. Tell her not to tell him then. I like your Mom, I just don't want her to worry about you."

Sighing heavily she leant across his lap and grabbed her phone before she sat back against the head of the bed, "the things I do for you."

Leaning closer to her he kissed her cheek gently, "I love you."

Resting her head on his shoulder she sighed, "I love you too."

Unlocking her phone she tapped out a quick message to her Mom:

_I'm already at the hotel at the site of Raw. Don't tell Vince I'm here please xx_

Sending the message she put the phone on the bedside table beside her just as there was a knock at the door. Reluctantly she climbed off the bed and walked over to the door pulling it open to see their dinner on a cart, "thank you. Can you just wheel it into the room for me please?"

The young boy nodded his head, "not a problem Ma'am."

Slowly he pushed the cart inside the door and jumped slightly at the sight of Paul sat on the bed looking slightly menacing because of his side. Turning around he walked back towards the door, "have a good evening."

Stephanie handed over a ten dollar bill, "thank you, we will." Shutting the door behind him as he left she walked back to the cart and started take the lids off getting to their meals before she handed Paul his and sat down on the bed with hers starting to eat it.

Paul finished his dinner quickly and put his plate back on the cart but when he looked over to Stephanie she was only halfway through with her dinner and now was just pushing it around the plate. Sitting back on the bed he nudged her shoulder gently with his, "you have to put food on your fork and lift it to your mouth to eat it, you know this right?"

Lifting her head she looked at him oddly, "what are you talking about?"

Motioning to her place and the way she was playing with her food, "you're not eating, you're just playing with your food. If you don't like it you can get something else if you want."

Shaking her head she sighed, "no, it's nothing to do with the food because it's nice and all that shit."

"But?"

Sighing she playfully glared at him, "but tomorrow is on my mind, I don't know how I'm going to cope with it. Everything feels so raw and painful still despite us being back together. There's nothing you can do to change anything, I just need time."

Laughing softly he rolled his eyes playfully, "you know me so well."

Just then her phone beeped again so Paul walked to the head of the bed and handed it to her to save her moving.

Unlocking her phone again she read the message from her Mom groaning lowly, "according to my Mom I can't avoid Vince forever. I can try though."

Taking her phone from her hand Paul threw it to the top of the bed, "well we are not going to think about him today, it's our night. Finish your dinner and then we will have our pancakes."

Silence fell over them as she did as she was told and finished off her dinner before she put the empty plate on the cart, "happy now?"

Nodding his head he smiled softly, "I am rather, thank you." Pushing himself to a standing position he pointed to the bathroom, "I will be back in a second and then we can have dessert."

Mock saluting she stood up also, "I'm going to get changed so take your time."

Walking in two separate directions she went to her suitcase and quickly opened it pulling out one of his t-shirts before she pulled off everything but her underwear and pulled on his t-shirt just as the bathroom door opened and Paul walked out again.

Walking out of the bathroom he pouted when he saw she was dressed again, "well that's not fair, where's my free show?"

Rolling her eyes she shook her head and grabbed the pancakes from the cart, "I'm sure they have an adult channel on pay per view here in the hotel so you can order that when you go back to your room if you really want one."

Sitting down beside her he playfully placed his hand on her thigh rubbing it gently, "but why would I need to when I have the sexiest woman alive sat right beside me?"

"Because she's not giving you a free show, that's why."

Biting down on his lip briefly he couldn't stop himself, "well I am more than willing to pay for . . ."

Before he was able to finish his sentence she grabbed a pancake from the plate and shoved it into his mouth whole to shut him up, "I'm just saving you from a slap, you can thank me later."

Taking the pancake that didn't fit into his mouth out he nodded his head as he silently chewed on his pancake not wanting a slap.

Between the two of them they polished off the plate of pancakes before she put the plate back on the cart and pushed it towards the door to put it outside.

As he watched her walking towards the door Paul wondered what she was wearing, "so exactly how short are your shorts?"

Reaching the door she decided to tease him and lifted up the back of his shirt so he could see that she wasn't wearing any before she dropped the shirt again and opened the door pushing the cart outside and quickly shutting the door again.

Enjoying the view of she gave him Paul shook his head briefly and tried to get rid of the images that were currently replaying over and over in his head, "so I'm guessing you want to go to sleep now. I will get out of your hair."

Walking back to the bed she pushed on his shoulders as he went to get up, "not so fast. Why don't you just stay the night?"

Lifting his head to look at her with a raised eyebrow he didn't know where this had come from, "what if we get caught?"

"We won't, most of the wrestlers won't arrive until tomorrow and I'm sure we will manage to sneak you out of here without anyone seeing. You can go back to your room if you'd prefer to be alone though, I won't hold it against you."

Slipping his arms around her waist he pulled her down onto the bed on top of him as he lay back, "nope. I am very happy staying right here with my girlfriend."

Closing her eyes as his hand slipped from around her waist to the top of her thighs before he pushed the shirt up and started to stroke the bare skin he found there. She was about to say something to get him to stop when his hands continued higher until they reached her lower back at which point they stopped moving and he gently stroked the skin there, "you're beautiful and I love you."

Relaxing on top of him she lay down totally and sighed happily as she laid her head on his chest allowing his hands to soothe her, "I love you too."


End file.
